


The Brothers of Sunset Curve

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: We'll Always Be More Than A Band (JATP) [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Fighting, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, I gave Bobby a backstory, I love Reggie so much, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mild Swearing, Panic Attacks, Pre-Canon, Protective Bobby, Protective Luke, Rated Underage for Drinking, Reggie's Parents Suck, Sunset Curve, Sunset Curve love each other, Takes place in 1994, The end is a lot happier than the beginning I promise, Underage Drinking, Whump, and made him nice, even though he was a jerk later on he was still their friend, protective Alex, reggie whump, so I must hurt him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26793625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: As they watched him, Alex let out a joking, “Are you drunk?”The question left a bad taste in the drummer’s mouth, however, when Reggie let out a scoff, then a hiccup. The other three glanced at each other as Reggie finally slipped to the floor, his head still down and more hiccups coming from him. It started hitting them, then- the smell of alcohol. It was strong, unpleasant, and something they had never, ever expected from Reggie. He was drunk. Reginald Carter was actually, completely, for what had to be the first time ever, drunk.----------When Reggie stumbles into practice an hour late, the rest of Sunset Curve doesn't know what to think. It becomes clear to them all quickly, however, that something is seriously wrong with Reggie. Their brother is hurting and there's no way they're letting him go through this alone.
Relationships: Alex & Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: We'll Always Be More Than A Band (JATP) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956307
Comments: 47
Kudos: 600





	The Brothers of Sunset Curve

**Author's Note:**

> CW: underage drinking, references to alcoholism, references to parents fighting, referenced/implied child abuse, a parent unintentionally hurting their child, panic attack
> 
> Read with caution

Frankly, it was a miracle that Reggie even made it to practice at all. He was almost an hour late, and Luke was reaching the end of his rope waiting for him, but in the long run, they were all a little impressed that Reggie even stumbled into the garage for practice at all. And really, there was no other way to describe how Reggie entered the garage than “stumbled.” He fiddled with the door handles, took three tries to get it open, and practically fell right over once he’d actually made it inside. The other three boys, who had been mindlessly strumming or drumming out the song they were _supposed to be practicing right now_ , all stopped and stared at the youngest of them practically collapsing to the floor. Reggie’s eyes were cast downward, his clothes were wrinkled, and he looked like he’d just gained consciousness. 

As they watched him, Alex let out a joking, “Are you drunk?” 

The question left a bad taste in the drummer’s mouth, however, when Reggie let out a scoff, then a hiccup. The other three glanced at each other as Reggie finally slipped to the floor, his head still down and more hiccups coming from him. It started hitting them, then- the smell of alcohol. It was strong, unpleasant, and something they had never, _ever_ expected from Reggie. He was drunk. Reginald Peters was actually, completely, for what had to be the first time ever, drunk. Neither Luke, Alex, nor Bobby knew what to say. They just stood there in silence, watching Reggie. 

Sunset Curve didn’t drink. Ever. Not when they went to parties, not when bars they had gigs at offered them a “nobody will know” drink after the show- “Dude, we’re 16,” Alex would argue back-, not when they were all upset about something or another. Never. They were the only teenagers they knew who had never touched a drop. Alex had no taste or desire for it, Luke was always the type of person who never needed any to have the excited, happy, bouncing around attitude that drinking teenagers sought out, and Reggie just didn’t care. That was what they all said when people asked why not, at least. Really, they all knew that the reason none of them drank was for Bobby. Bobby’s mother had had issues with alcoholism his entire life. She would disappear for days on end, going on some bender, would have a glass of wine in her hand _every time_ one of the other boys saw her, and eventually she had just up and left. She left her only child and her husband behind, a trail of empty bottles in her wake. Bobby _hated_ alcohol. He hated the effects it could have on people, hated seeing his mother like that, and hated the thought that it could ever hurt somebody else in his life. 

In the three years Sunset Curve had been together, not one of them had gotten drunk. Except for now. Because here was Reggie, out of it and playing with the sleeves of his flannel as he still didn’t look at them. None of them knew what to do. As horrible as the thought was, Bobby was the best equipped to handle this and no way in _hell_ were Alex or Luke going to make him do that. Eventually, after what seemed to be hours of silence, Luke spoke up. 

“What the hell, Reggie?” he exclaimed loudly, and everyone could hear the anger in his voice. It was probably not the best way to start this conversation, causing Alex to cringe a little, but it was nothing in comparison to Reggie’s reaction. 

The youngest band member jerked violently at Luke’s sudden shout, letting out what could only be described as a whimper. Immediately, Reggie’s sprawled out position on the floor switched to him closing in on himself, scooting away from them as he wrapped his arms around his knees, tucked his head down even more, and made himself small. The action caused Luke to freeze from where he’d taken a step closer to Reggie and Alex to abruptly stand from behind his drums. Letting out a deep breath, Bobby lifted his guitar off his shoulders, setting it down as quietly as possible before taking a few careful steps closer to Reggie. Alex and Luke looked at each other. They both read the fear in each other’s eyes. Alex, Luke, and Reggie had been friends since 7th grade. They had never, ever seen him like this before. They had seen him frustrated out of his mind because of school, had seen him cry and shut down when his parents fought too much too loudly, had seen him dejected and disappointed because a girl turned him down or something wasn’t working out. But this was new. Panic attacks were Alex’s struggle, but had never been the others’. 

Both of them tried to follow Bobby closer to Reggie, but the rhythm guitarist stopped them with his hand held out and a shake of his head. Part of Alex wanted to ignore it; he had the experience with dealing with panic attacks and might be able to help Reggie best, but he also knew that if Reggie felt at all crowded, it would simply get worse. It was best for just one of them to try and approach him. Both Luke and Alex listened to the silent order, moving closer together until they were feet away from their shaking best friend and pressed into each other’s sides. They had gotten close enough to Reggie that they could hear him mumbling to himself now. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Reggie just kept repeating. “Please stop, I’m sorry, stop it, I’m sorry.”

ALex felt Luke’s hand grab his tightly, both their hearts breaking for their best friend- their _brother._ Bobby had fully reached Reggie now, and crouched down in front of him with enough space that he wasn’t crowding the younger. 

“Reg? Reggie, it’s Bobby, okay? You’re okay, man, everything’s fine.”

Reggie just shook his head, his tightly curled body beginning to rock back and forth. 

“Reggie?” Luke called meekly from his spot next to Alex. That got Reggie’s attention, it seemed, and his mumbling stopped. 

“Yeah, there we go, that’s good, man,” Bobby whispered. “Just listen to us, okay? Me, Alex, Luke, we’re all right here. You’re okay.”

After another minute or two, with all three of them speaking softly and reassuringly to Reggie, the shaking stopped. His breathing still wasn’t even, but it was closer. And finally, _finally_ , for the first time since he entered the garage, Reggie raised his head, just enough to look at Bobby. 

“Bobby?” Reggie let out as his eyes focused in on his bandmate. 

“Yeah, Reg. You’re in the garage, we’re all here.”

There was a new tightness to Bobby’s voice that neither Luke nor Alex liked. It sounded almost. . . angry? With a glance to each other, both of them moved closer to Reggie. As they did, Alex let out a sharp gasp, and Luke gripped Alex’s hand tighter. They could see why Bobby had gotten tense now. Along the side of Reggie’s face, which had been turned away from them as he’d stumbled into the garage and then fallen to the ground, was bright red. It was bright red, and there was the growing colors of a bruise surrounding a scabbing gash across his cheekbone. This time, Bobby couldn’t have stopped them even if he’d wanted to. Luke and Alex rushed the rest of the way over, dropping on either side of Reggie. Reggie’s eyes grew wide as they appeared, like he wasn’t expecting them. All three of the others could pinpoint the exact moment Reggie realized that none of them were looking at him so much as looking at the injury on his face. He backed away from them a little, trying to duck his head down again like if they couldn’t see it then it wasn’t real. 

Alex was slow in reaching out a hand towards his best friend. He almost stopped himself multiple times, but eventually, as softly as he could, put a hand down on Reggie’s back. Thankfully, Reggie didn’t pull away from the touch, but rather leaned into it. Leaned into it so far that in his drunken state, he fell sideways into Alex’s chest. Alex shared a worried look with both Bobby and Luke as he began to run his hand lightly up and down Reggie’s back. 

“Reg, what happened?” Alex whispered, but what he got in place of an answer was a whimper and what felt like water hitting his leg. Tears. 

“Reggie, _please_ , you gotta tell us what happened,” Luke pleaded. 

It was silent for a few minutes before Reggie, in the quietest, most broken voice they’d ever heard, let out, “My parents. . .”

All three other members of Sunset Curve felt their blood boil. They knew Reggie’s parents weren’t great; their fighting took a toll on Reggie, they spent what seemed half the time ignoring him, but they had never, _ever_ -

“They-” Reggie’s hoarse, slurred voice spoke again. “They were yelling. It wasn’t even- it was so stupid. I just-” he sobbed quietly into Alex’s sweatshirt, “-I wanted them to stop.”

None of the boys said anything, but Luke reached out a hand so his joined Alex’s in rubbing his back, and Bobby placed one of his on Reggie’s knee. 

“He pushed me,” Reggie mumbled, and they all knew he was talking about his father. “I hit the edge of the counter and- mom yelled and dad yelled and then they both just _left._ God, they left me. He pushed me, and I, I-”

Alex shushed him as Reggie’s breathing picked up again. One look at the others told him that the tears welling in his eyes were matched by Bobby and Luke. For all the faults in their families, none of them had ever been hurt. 

“I’m sorry, guys, I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, no, don’t do that,” Luke said softly. 

“No, no, no- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t’ve- I didn’t- Bobby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to- the bottle was just sitting there and I- I wanted it to stop. I- shit, I’m so sorry. And I was late- god, I shouldn’t- I’m sorry. I’m sorry, guys.”

Alex moved to wrap Reggie fully into his arms, Luke following right after. Bobby was the last; he was by far the least physically affectionate of them all. It made him uncomfortable. But he moved in anyway, wrapping Reggie between all three of them, like a shield so no one could hurt him. 

“It’s okay, Reggie,” Bobby said. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Reggie shook his head between them, “No, it- I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Reg.”

“It’s okay.”

“We’ve got you, you’re going to be okay.”

Reggie didn’t seem to hear the words, just shaking his head. After a moment, Bobby spoke again.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, man. But I forgive you anyway.”

Alex and Luke looked at him before saying the words themselves. “We forgive you, Reggie.”

Thankfully, the words reached Reggie’s ears. He stopped shaking his head and sagged into the hug. 

“I’m sorry,” he let out one more time, barely a mumble into Alex’s chest. 

None of the band members were sure how long they all sat there like that, just holding Reggie between them. Eventually though, one of them shifted, and they all fell out of the hug to stand up. Bobby and Alex silently led Reggie over to the couch, where Reggie fell back into Alex’s chest. Luke moved over to one of the shelves, pulling down the first aid kit all of them were suddenly extremely grateful Luke’s mom had made them keep. Luke moved to kneel in front of Reggie, opening the kit to pull out antibiotic and some small bandages. 

“Hey, Reg?” Luke asked as he reached up to clean Reggie’s cut. “You know I’m sorry, too, right?”

Reggie frowned, looking to Luke with confusion. “Why?”

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” Luke admitted, guilt seeping into his voice. “I know that’s what made you panic. I shouldn’t have yelled, and I’m really sorry, man.”

Reggie gave him a weak smile, which was cut short as he winced at the sting of the antibiotic. 

"I know, Luke. You'd never-," Reggie yawned loudly, "-hurt me." 

Reggie was still drunk, recovering from his panic, and now so close to sleep that none of the teens were sure he knew quite what he was saying. Nevertheless, it made Luke freeze for a moment. Because Reggie had realized his fears exactly. Seeing Reggie panic had shocked Luke to his core, and he _hated_ that he had been the one to cause it. All he could think was _"What if Reggie is scared of me now?", "What if I make him panic again?"_ , and _"What if I lose him?"_

It had been silly to think about, really; Luke knew that just as he would never abandon or leave Reggie, Reggie would never let anything happen to their friendship either. As Reggie closed his eyes, his head falling onto Alex's shoulder, Luke took a deep breath and resumed what he was doing. He reached for the bandages, careful not to jostle Reggie too much. The others were all silent, afraid to wake him. Reggie, though, wasn't asleep yet.

He shifted as Luke finished, pulling his legs up onto the couch, where they fell into Bobby's lap, and snuggling down so his head was in Alex's lap. Luke joined them on the couch, sitting next to Alex so he could run his hand through Reggie's hair. 

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Reggie whispered. The other three looked back and forth to each other. 

"You can come stay at mine for a few days," Alex offered. "You know my family won't mind- Maggie _loves_ having you around."

Reggie smiled at the mention of Alex's little sister. All the boys babysat Maggie, who was eight years old, pretty regularly and loved the little girl. 

“You can stay at mine anytime you need, too, Reg,” Luke offered, knowing Reggie already knew that. Luke’s house was usually his go-to when his parents’ fighting was too much to drown out with his bass. Bobby quickly followed with the same offer. Reggie opened his eyes, smiling up at all of them. 

“Thanks, guys. I love you guys.” 

Reggie closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep before he could hear the rest of the band return the sentiment. They stayed like that for most of the rest of the day, until Reggie woke back up from the pain in his cheek and the hangover creeping up. But while he slept, Alex, Bobby, and Luke just sat pressed together on the couch, speaking in low enough volumes to not wake the sleeping Sunset Curve member. They talked about nothing in particular- what chord progression would sound best in Luke’s new song, which gig they wanted to try to book next, and which homework assignments they were procrastinating this week. Despite the day’s events hanging over them and evident on Reggie’s face, all four of the teenage boys felt comfortable. The outside world was crap, but here in this garage, everything would always be fine. 

In the garage, surrounded by their instruments, each other, and just the comfortable familial love, everything was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first JATP work! I've been in the mood to write one for a while now, so when this thought kept floating around in my head, I had to get it down in writing. This is honestly way more dark and depressing than stuff I normally write, but if you guys like it, maybe I'll try my hand at something happy next time!


End file.
